As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is an information handling system (IHS). An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for such systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
For IHSs to function properly, a power supply may be needed to supply power to the IHS and its components. For portable IHSs such as laptops, notebooks, personal display assistants (PDA), and/or the like, an external power supply may be employed. Furthermore, the external power supplies may be AC adapters, which may convert alternating current (AC) signals into direct current (DC) signals for consumption by the portable IHS. To this end, external power supplies (i.e., AC adapters) for portable IHSs may include a power cable that extends from the adapter to pass DC signals to the portable IHS.
In some cases, the power cable may be relatively thick, thereby hindering portability of the external power supply. Moreover, a thick cable may not be aesthetically pleasing to a user or owner of a portable IHS. Therefore, thinner gauge cable may be employed to reduce the thickness of the DC cord. However, using thinner gauge cable may increase the voltage drop along the cable as opposed to a thicker cable. The voltage drop may refer to a decrease in voltage from the voltage initially output by the power supply to the voltage eventually received by the IHS. Notably, the voltage drop associated with any cable may be attributed inherent impedances possessed by the cable.
To account for the voltage drop along the power cable, current solutions may employ voltage detection capabilities to detect the voltage at the IHS. Then, such information may be fed back to the external power supply, and the power supply may then output a higher voltage to compensate for the voltage drop along the power cable. As a result, the voltage eventually received by the IHS may be sufficient for operation. However, in order to implement voltage detection at the IHS, typical solutions employ extra wires to provide communication or feedback between the power supply and the IHS. Providing these extra wires may result in a need to increase the size of the power cable, which again may affect portability and aesthetics.
Thus, a need exists for methods and systems for a power management framework that provides voltage detection of the IHS without the need for extra wires.